Oil workers

Nigerian police have freed 14 kidnapped oil workers in the restive southern Niger Delta region, which has been hit by a series of militant attacks on oil and gas facilities, police said on Sunday.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in some parts of Nigeria and the southern Delta energy hub has seen an increase in crime since the start of attacks by militants calling for more oil wealth to go to the impoverished region.

Kidnappers of 14 oil workers in Rivers State have demanded the sum of N100m for the release of their victims.

It was gathered that the kidnappers had established contact with some families of those held captive for the past four days, asking them to make the sum available if they wanted their loved ones to regain freedom.

Gunmen had hijacked a Toyota Coaster bus conveying the oil workers, who are employees of Nestoil Plc.

The Rivers State Police Command said on Saturday that its men were closing in on the kidnappers of 14 oil workers in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, explained that the men of the Rivers Police Command had been combing different parts of the areas in Omoku, where the victims were suspected to have been held hostage.

On Friday, a group of armed men suspected to be kidnappers at about 12.20pm […]

Gunmen riding in a speedboat kidnapped four Nigerian oil workers, that are employees of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NOAC), in the crude-producing Niger Delta, the military said Wednesday, as fears rise of growing unrest in the region 10 days before national polls.

It has been reported that Kidnappings, including attacks targeting foreigners seem to be common in the region’s creeks and swamps. The Oil workers were taken on Tuesday in the […]

A statement issued by PENGASSAN national secretariat on Sunday read, “Plans are at the final stage with its sister union, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), to mobilise members for a nationwide industrial action that will disrupt operations in the oil and gas sector until the Federal Government shows genuine intention to earnestly attend and resolve the enumerated issues at stake.”

If their plans go as planned, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) will […]